The learning of academic vocabulary, which consists of words commonly found in academic discourse across disciplines, is crucial for success in higher education. However, studies have shown that English as a second language (ESL) students face significant challenges acquiring this vocabulary, particularly during their first year of university. Given the pivotal role that learners' beliefs play in language learning, understanding their beliefs regarding their academic vocabulary learning (AVL) can provide educators with insights into the teaching strategies that effectively address the difficulties learners encounter. Accordingly, this mixed-methods study examined the beliefs of 172 first-year ESL undergraduates in Hong Kong regarding their AVL. Quantitative findings indicated that although students generally recognised the importance of developing academic vocabulary, their beliefs about their competence and effective learning methods varied. The students' English proficiency level was also found to be associated with their beliefs. An analysis of open-ended responses further revealed that the students faced challenges related to the infrequent occurrence of academic vocabulary in non-academic contexts, its complex nature, as well as the difficulty of retaining newly learned words. The paper concludes by discussing pedagogical implications and directions for future research. Copyright © 2024 Wiley.

Although teachers have access to a great deal of scholarship on teaching academic vocabulary (AV), much less is known about the experiences and perceptions of English language learners regarding AV. To address this gap, we used an online metaphor elicitation survey and follow-up interviews to collect data from 432 undergraduates at a Hong Kong university on their experience of learning AV. For this paper, we focus on the 199 students whose metaphors related to difficulties or challenges. A thematic analysis of this data showed that about two-thirds of this subgroup perceived AV to be inherently difficult, while for the other third, the challenge primarily concerned their negative perceptions of their experience or abilities. We conclude by arguing for the value of understanding learner perspectives and proposing specific teaching strategies for addressing each of the perceived challenges. Copyright © 2024 Wiley.

PurposeDespite the growing interest in the applicability and value of educational research for improving educational policy and practice, few studies have demonstrated how English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers apply research findings in their second language (L2) teaching. This paper reports on a study in which four Hong Kong ESL teachers were given research findings about L2 vocabulary teaching and learning and how they engaged in professional development (PD) sessions with a researcher specialising in vocabulary teaching and learning to make sense of the research findings.MethodologyIn addition to the dialogues between the researcher and teachers, individual semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers were audio-recorded and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.FindingsOur analysis revealed how ESL teachers made sense of the research literature to inform their L2 vocabulary teaching practices by (1) bridging the gap between the school culture and practices and empirical research findings; (2) connecting the researcher's explanations of the theoretical literature to real-life pedagogical practices; and (3) explaining how research findings can be applied to future classroom teaching and learning.Originality/ValueBased on the findings, we argue that professional dialogues between teachers and a researcher can facilitate the creation of a dialogic space for teachers to deploy their knowledge, including but not limited to pedagogical knowledge and beliefs, prior language learning experiences, and teaching experiences, to better understand research findings, thereby challenging their existing thinking and teaching. Such a dialogic space provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their pedagogical practices, which can promote quality teaching. Copyright © 2024 Routledge .

Metadiscourse plays a significant role in determining the quality of writing. While a growing number of studies have investigated the use of metadiscourse by adult second language learners in academic writing at the tertiary level, studies on how secondary-level students adopt such linguistic resources in other genres, particularly in examination writing, remain few. The present study addresses this research gap by examining the distributions of metadiscourse markers in a corpus of 120 low-, medium-, and high-rated advice-giving texts (letters and reports) randomly selected from the Hong Kong public examination of English language writing, written by secondary-level Chinese learners of English. Using Hyland’s (2019) framework of metadiscourse, the study found considerable variation in the use of interactive and interactional metadiscourse across genres (letters vs. reports) and the final exam grades awarded to texts. Implications for teaching English to pre-tertiary Chinese writers are discussed with suggestions for future research. Copyright ©2024 De Gruyter.

In English Medium Instruction (EMI) programmes, students learn content subjects through English, their second language (L2). While it has been argued that students can develop their L2 alongside their content knowledge, the L2 goal is not always clearly defined. For example, we do not know enough about the amount of vocabulary required for success in EMI, and the subject-specific language demanded by different content subjects. Some attempts have been made to identify the language demand in EMI concerning the vocabulary used in learning materials and classroom discourse, representing the ‘process’ dimension of research; however, in order to clearly define the language goal, it is crucial to also delve into the ‘product dimension’, pointing to the need for research on EMI assessment. To address the research gap, our study examined 16 sets of papers containing two subjects, namely Biology and Geography, spanning eight years from a high-stakes examination in Hong Kong. The examination is conducted at the end of Secondary Six (Grade 12) to determine university admission and can thus be regarded as what learners are expected to achieve in secondary education. Our investigation into the vocabulary profiles of the examination papers indicates that students needed to learn beyond the K1−K3 (the most frequency 3000 words in English) and master the mid-frequency words (K4−K8) as well as academic words. It also reveals that the less frequent vocabulary items were not often shared by the subjects. Further, the analysis of academic words suggests how some words were commonly used in the examination papers of the two subjects, and others more subject-specific. Pedagogical implications are discussed to highlight the need for teachers and students to attend to the target language goal in EMI and to consider the subject-specific nature of the vocabulary items in EMI. Copyright © 2022 ICELEAL.

Given the significant role vocabulary plays in second language acquisition, how to help learners acquire vocabulary has always been a concern for educators. Despite the general consensus that beliefs influence learners' behaviour, limited research effort has been devoted to the exploration of English as a second language (ESL) learners' beliefs about vocabulary knowledge and learning in the secondary education context and how their beliefs are affected by such factors as grades and proficiency levels. This paper reports on a convergent mixed-methods study that addresses the research gap with the use of a questionnaire administered to 556 ESL students in a Hong Kong secondary school. Results revealed that while students in general perceived vocabulary learning as important, their beliefs about vocabulary knowledge and learning were found to be related to their grade and proficiency levels. Open-ended responses provided further insights into learners' beliefs qualitatively about the difficulties faced by learners and their perceptions of the effective ways to tackle these difficulties. Overall, this paper broadens the understanding of L2 learners' beliefs about vocabulary knowledge and learning. It complements existing literature on L2 vocabulary learning and sheds light on issues related to vocabulary learning and teaching. Copyright © 2023 Routledge.

Despite the rapid growth of English Medium Instruction (EMI) programmes around the globe, the language goals in such programmes have not been clearly defined, making it difficult to evaluate their success. Accordingly, our paper reports on a study that attempted to identify the language goals, operationalised as the vocabulary expected of learners, by investigating the under-explored area of EMI assessment. We sampled a corpus of 16 sets of examination papers in two subject areas, namely, Biology and Geography, spanning eight years in Hong Kong. The examination papers, analysed for their vocabulary profiles, indicated that students were expected to learn beyond the K3 level (the most frequent 3,000 words in English) and master mid-frequency words (K4−K8) as well as academic words. Our findings suggest that the less frequent words were not often shared by the two subjects. Analysing academic words also enabled us to showcase how some words were common across the two subjects while others were more subject-specific. Pedagogical implications are discussed, highlighting the need for teachers and students to attend to target language goals in EMI, and to consider the subject-specific nature of vocabulary items in EMI. Copyright © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Adopting a sociocultural perspective, this paper reports on a case study that examined how a dialogic approach contributed to Hong Kong English teachers' professional development in methods of vocabulary instruction. Data were drawn from interviews, lesson observations, professional dialogues, and reflective writing to present two in-depth contrasting cases. While one teacher reported marked change in her beliefs and practice, the other adapted her practice minimally despite reporting belief changes. The findings revealed the role of dialogic reflection in facilitating professional learning and noted the potential impact of Chinese culture on teachers' dialogic reflection. Further, they showed that changes in practice are mediated by internalising new ideas, linking teacher beliefs with clear goals and contextual factors including institutional policies, time constraints, and learner feedback. Teachers' verbal participation in professional dialogues, for example, showing agreement with the suggestions of others, was insufficient for generating changes in practices. Implications, including the important roles of reflexivity and sociocultural contexts in teacher professional development programmes, along with directions for future research, are considered. • Social interaction and idea internalisation contribute to teacher development. • Exploring beliefs based on multiple lenses fosters professional development. • Change in practice is affected by beliefs, reflexivity, and contextual factors. • Only overt verbal participation in professional dialogues does not assure change. • Culture plays a significant role in teachers' dialogic exchanges of views. Copyright © 2022 Elsevier.